Am I Hurting My Knees?

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Hey. I've been squatting for about 4 or so years now. Don't get back pain. Pretty good form I think (I've uploaded a video in form check). I'm just wondering how I would know if I was injuring my knees...

Recently, I've noticed my knees creak and a slight pain at the top of my right knee cap. It comes and goes. Left side is fine. When squatting heavy I notice it feels tightish, maybe just a dull pain. (I think I'm pretty good at keeping knees out and knees don't pass over my toes)

My 2 questions are:

1)is this something I should be overly concerned about? (Btw I play football twice a week so I'm wondering if it's just over use, now that I'm getting to heavier weights... I never get any knee pain playing football during or after)

2)would someone definitely get pain if something was wrong. I mean, if you have no back pain, no knee pain, is there any chance of there being any issues?

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I do a kind of hybrid 5x5. Everything is the same as usual except from doing back squats 3 times a week, as I play football/soccer once or twice, I've subbed back for front squats. Just to ease up on the weight as I'm up to 140kg on backs.

The pain has been over the past few months and is not unbearable by any means-i am able to work through. It does happen when not squatting to, ie when I'm relaxing.

I've been to a doctor's who said it was fine although she just checked it the lower half of my leg rotated out while holding the knee - she wasn't exactly thorough...

Your squatting very high even with those plates under the feet. Ditch the plates (buy proper shoes with a heel if you want the better angle) and work on mobility.

Lower the weight and work your way back up, you can start with a wider stance as that can make depth easier, then as mobility improves gradually move your feet in (thats what worked for me).

Goblet squats, and squat stretches (hold on to a corner of the rack to support yourself and squat down as deep as possible and hold the stretch). Unsupported squat stretches when you just stretch down into depth and hold it there for time (you can push your elbows into your knees to help keep them out and hold the stretch). Again starting wider and working your way narrower is a good progression on the mobility.

(The knee joint itself takes a lot of strain in supporting the weight at higher depths which is why it can cause knee pain, the deeper you go will allow the hamstring to support the weight in the stretch reflex taking strain away from the joint).

Your squats are a little high, I imagine because you're trying to prevent your knees from passing your toes. That's a bit of a silly cue and it will make squatting feel ridiculous. Perhaps take a look at some videos on youtube? Knees passing the toes is perfectly okay.

Your doctor may not have been thorough in your eyes, but she was testing you for a meniscus tear.

Your squat form looks really off, way to high. As the others say, buy lifting shoes and ditch the plates. Start doing goblet squat stretches before you start squatting and begin with low weights to learn proper depth and form. Remember that your hip joint should be below your knee cap for it to be a squat that is deep enough.